Sunshine Coast house prices tipped to stabilise

The Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) says the Sunshine Coast has weathered the worst of the decline in the property market.

REIQ Sunshine Coast chairman Lloyd Edwards says house prices should start to stabilise within the next year.

Mr Edwards says it has been a tough five years on the coast.

"We've weathered the storm," he said.

"The market that peaked in 2008 has given us five years of fairly flat market.

"We didn't go down dramatically. We went down some. It's now settled.

"The consensus is that we're in a market where the prices will stay relatively level for the next six and 12 months.

"Six months ago there was an availability of 20 or 30 houses underneath $400,000 in the central coast. They're now gone and so what's happening is buyers are being forced to look up the totem pole towards the next price point and that by itself will drive up the median price."